18/3/2008

The Mouthpiece

Caution: this vehicle is reversing

APPARENTLY, men are better drivers because of their misspent youth playing with remote-controlled cars.

The concept of co-ordination and manoeuvring the vehicle into tight spots is second nature for boys who spent their Christmas Day afternoons slaloming under tables and speeding through household halls.

Although a fair percentage of my teenage years (and adult years) were taken up playing Nintendo’s classic racing game Mario Kart, I was never a great one for remote control cars, and my recent driving lessons appear to be proving the theory correct.

I am struggling to get into the mindset required for parallel parking.

My brain does not accept that when in reverse gear, if I turn the steering wheel to the left, the front of the car goes right.

Almost every other aspect of my driving is coming along well, bar the occasional stall, but I don’t seem able to get past the mental block of having to think backwards to go backwards.

Maybe I should just accept my fate and never park, continually moving and leaping from the car James Bond-style when I reach my destination.

Or maybe it’s time to invest in a remote-controlled car, head for the Guildford hills and make up for lost time by taking an overdue trip to toytown.

Read more of Sam's blogs here.

First printed in: Surrey Advertiser Online